Personal sports writing archive of Blake Murphy.

As the countdown to Kyle Lowry’s return begins, should Raptors expect post-surgery slump?

Title: As the countdown to Kyle Lowry’s return begins, should Raptors expect post-surgery slump?Date: March 30, 2017Original Source:The AthleticSynopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I tried to find historically similar injuries to the one Kyle Lowry suffered in order to gain some sense of whether his impending return will be accompanied by a short shooting slump.

Kyle Lowry may fancy himself a fan of The Rock, but he figures to be much closer to Chris Jericho in spirit over the next two weeks. The countdown clock to his return has flickered on in earnest, now, and his impending return will hang over every Toronto Raptors game and practice like it’s Monday Night Raw in August 1999.

All of that is to say, there’s finally an update on Lowry’s progress following surgery to remove loose bodies in his right wrist.

“They’ll let me know when they let me know,” head coach Dwane Casey said before Wednesday’s game. “He’s working his butt off, and running, and he’s shooting now. With his good hand. That’s as far as they let me know. We’ve just gotta keep going until he gets back.”

The team still declined to provide a timeline for Lowry’s return, but in theory, this is the biggest hurdle he has to clear. (At some point, he probably requires clearance for contact, but as of Wednesday there was no follow-up with his doctor on the docket.) It’s that repeated full extension and flexion of the wrist that threatens to stress the wrist, and how he responds to his first few sessions will be telling, though that information will probably be kept private.